Continuous monitoring of arterial oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (S.sub.a O.sub.2) has gained widespread use in health care. Pulse oximetry equipment comprises an infrared probe or sensor for generating a raw electrical signal from which arterial oxygen saturation may be calculated, a base unit for analyzing the raw electrical signal and displaying and recording arterial oxygen saturation, and a cable for connecting the probe or sensor to the base unit. The base unit and cable are well-known in the art and will not be described herein in detail.
Pulse oximetry sensors arrange an infrared source and an infrared detector on either side of a patient's digit such that an infrared light beam passes between the emitter and detector through the digit. Arterial oxygen saturation may be calculated from an electrical signal generated by the infrared detector.
Two basic types of pulse oximetry sensors are currently available: disposable and reusable. Disposable probes obviate the need to clean probes between each use, but are quite expensive given that they must be disposed after each use.
Reusable probes are relatively expensive to purchase at the outset but may be used many times, lowering the overall cost of probes for each use. However, reusable probes must be cleaned after each use, which inflates the actual cost of using reusable sensors; additionally, this cleaning process is fairly complex and increases the likelihood of cross-patient contamination if not performed carefully.
The present invention is of particular importance in the context of reusable pulse oximetry sensors, and that application will be described in detail herein. The present invention may have broader application, however, so the scope of the present invention should be determined not with reference to the following detailed description but instead with reference to the claims appended hereto.